By Nicholas Piretto
Improved LIRR service is coming to the Hamptons (Timothy Bolger)
The Long Island Rail Road will continue its direct service from Manhattan to Montauk in the offseason and expand it into a year-round service after originally only offering the route during the summer.
The 5:13 p.m. eastbound train out of Penn Station will operate year-round Monday to Friday, providing riders with a direct, one-seat service to Montauk. The train will stop at Jamaica and Babylon before making all Montauk Branch stops. The change is set to take effect after Labor Day and comes as the LIRR is planning to make additional infrastructure improvements along the Montauk Branch.
Before this announcement, the 5:13 p.m. train ended in Speonk, except for Friday evenings when it ran all the way to Montauk. The LIRR began sending the train to Montauk on Wednesdays two years ago before deciding to expand the service to weekdays this summer.
“It will give our East End customers another opportunity to get home from New York City after work,” says LIRR President Rob Free. “We’re always looking for ways to improve service out there and we’ve come to the conclusion that we can operate this train year-round, so we’re pretty pleased about that.”
As the LIRR expands its services, they also look to address infrastructure limitations along the Montauk Branch. There are 44 miles of single track between Speonk and Montauk alone, with only two passing sidings. The first phase of the LIRR’s South Shore improvements will see the LIRR extend a siding track at Amagansett and interlock it. This will reduce a 27-mile stretch of single track to 16 miles. The current amount of single track means that there cannot be an eastbound train east of Southampton and a westbound train west of Montauk operating at the same time.
“Now, this project is beginning the design phase, and we hope to begin construction in early 2028,” says Free. “That will all change once these improvements are made.”
The LIRR built a temporary second platform at Hampton Bays for the busy summer season and, after seeing its benefits, decided it was worth the investment to make it permanent. Phase two of the LIRR’s South Shore improvements will see a permanent second, eight-car platform, an extension of the existing north-side platform and track and signal upgrades. These improvements will allow passengers to board and exit two trains at the same time.
Bejarano says that expanding the service will mean easier commutes for East End residents and faster trips for visitors looking to experience all that Montauk has to offer.